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Hospitals trying to cut tax bill

Eighty NHS trusts in England have written to local authorities claiming they should be classified as charities in a move to be eligible for an 80% business rate tax break.

According to The Guardian, the discount would be worth an estimated £250m a year, but the trusts also want it backdated for six years. However, council representatives have called the demands “ridiculous” and warned the £1.5bn rebate would lead to increased council tax.

A spokesperson from The Local Government Association (LGA) said: “We have sought legal advice from counsel. We believe that NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts are not charities, and that the applications for rate relief are therefore unfounded.”

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PwC warns of cyber attack upsurge

Cybercrime will become the UK’s largest economic crime by 2018, according to PwC’s latest Global economic crime survey.

The Independent reports, cybercrime has grown faster than any other fraud, with a 20% rise since 2014, while bribery, asset misappropriation and procurement fraud, have declined. Accounting fraud has seen a slight increase. Cloud based storage and more “ambitious hackers” are blamed for the surge in cybercrime

PwC’s Andrew Gordon said: “Business needs to minimise the opportunities for economic crime through rigorous fraud risk assessment, supported by a culture based on shared corporate values and robust policies and compliance programmes.”